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Canada - Constable Duncan, 39, Calgary, 2 July 1917

"Plenty of people heard the gunshots, but this was just after midnight on July 2 — and all night long, fireworks had been crackling across Calgary, celebrating Canada’s birthday.

It was too late to save Arthur Duncan, even if somebody had realized the four sharp bangs emanating from around 8 Ave. and 8 St. S.W. were bullets fired at the unsuspecting police constable, one hitting him in the face and another in the abdomen.

“The police aver that there can be no motive for the killing of a personal nature, as Duncan was one of the quietest men on the force, and had never been engaged in a quarrel with anyone,” read the Morning Albertan, dated July 3, 1917.

And so the 39-year-old father became the first Calgary police officer killed in the line of duty, ambushed in the alley behind Revelstoke Sawmills, a short distance from the new Mewata Armouries building."

At 4:40 a.m., on July 2, 1917, a citizen found the body of Constable Arthur Duncan, 39, the first Calgary police officer to die in the line of duty. The constable had been shot in both the jaw and chest. Evidence at the scene suggested that Duncan surprised the culprit(s), who were recovering stolen property from under a building. He didn’t have a chance to pull his weapon.

Constable Duncan had reported to headquarters at midnight. When he failed to make his routine calls at 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., his sergeant began a search. Despite the evidence at the scene and the offer of a $1,000 reward, the killer was never found.

Constable Duncan had been on the Force for six years. Before that, he had been a police officer for 12 years in Scotland. He was survived by his wife and a young son."